Pellet injector



March 24, 1953 J. L. was

PELLET INJECTOR Filed June 14, 1951 W M i fsss Patented Mar. 24, 1953UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PELLET INJECTOR John Leo Kas, Boston, Mass.

Application June 14, 1951, Serial No. 231,628

This invention relates to an improved device for injecting pellets underthe skin of animals such as cattle or fowl. An object of the inventionis to provide a convenient injector which can readily be held andoperated by one hand of the operator and which can carry a large numberof pellets. The injector includes a hollow needle with a plungerslidable therein to eject pellets therefrom one by one. The plunger isoperated by a spring which is compressed when the plunger is retractedto a cooked position. A trigger is provided to release the plunger fromits cocked position and allow the compressed spring to project itforward to eject from the needle the pellet which is moved into linewith the plunger by the trigger itself. The trigger also actuates afeeding disk which transfers pellets one by one to the trigger from amagazine capable of holding alarge supply of pellets.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be hadto the following description thereof and to the drawing, of

which- V Figure l is a side elevation of a device embodying theinvention, a portion being broken away to show in section;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-4 of Figure 1;/

Figure 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fi ure 1;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure ure 1;

'Figure '7 is a section on the line 'l--! of Figure 6; and V v Figure 8is a section similar to Figure 6 but with the parts in a difierentposition of operation..

The device illustrated on the drawing for injecting pellets under theskin of an animal comprises a body member or barrel In which is intendedto be held in an approximately horizontal position when in use. A hollowneedle l2 projects from the forward end of the barrel l0 and a suitablegrip or handle l4 may be mounted 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig-7 on the rear end portion ofthe barrel. The barrel hasa large bore I6extending forward from the rear end thereof and communicating with a 4Claims. (01. 128-217) that is, substantially at the forward end of theneedle l2. The plunger 20 is provided with a head 22 at the rear endthereof adapted to bring up against the forward end of the large bore l6when the forward end of the plunger has reached the position shown inFigure 8. A spring 24 is compressed between the head 22 and a plug 26,the latter being secured in the rear end of the barrel as by being screwthreaded therein. This spring 24 constantly tends to push the plunger 20to its projected position. In order to facilitate retracting the plungerto the cooked position, a finger piece 28 may be secured to the head 22so as to project radially therefrom through a longitudinal slot 30 inthe barrel I0. When the device is held in the hand of the operator whichgrips the handle [4, the forefinger of the same hand may conveniently beused to retract the plunger 20 to the cooked position indicated inFigure 6. A trigger is provided to block the forward movement of theplunger from its cocked position until the trigger is actuatedto'release the plunger. The trigger comprises a bar 32 slidable in abore which extends transversely through the forward end portion of thebarrel l0 and intersects the bore l8. On one end of the trigger bar 32is mounted a finger button 34. At the other end is a stop element 35.Between the finger button and the barrel H] is a compressed spring 36which constantly presses the trigger bar to the extended position shownin Figure 6 with the stop element 35 engaging the side of the barrelIll. The bar 32 is provided with a notch which is about the same size asthe bore I 8 and is adapted to be moved into registry with that borewhen the bar is pushed against the spring 36 to the position shown inFigure 8. When the trigger bar is in its projected position, as shown inFigure 6, the bar acts as a stop to block forward movement of theplunger 20 from its cocked position. When the finger button 34 ispressed to push the bar in until the notch 40 registers with the boreiii, the plunger is released and is thereupon projected forward by thecompressed spring 24. As hereinafter described, mechanism is providedfor supplying a pellet to the notch 40 when the bar is in its projectedposition. When the bar is pushed in to release the plunger, the pelletis moved into line with the plunger so that when the plunger isprojected forward, it pushes the pellet ahead of it and thus implantsthe pellet under the skinof the animal which has previously beenpunctured by the sharp end of the needle.

Means for feeding pellets one by one into the notch 40 for transfer tothe bore I8 may comprise a feeding disk 50 which is mounted on top ofthe forward end of the barrel l and is rotatable about a pin or bolt 52which is secured to the barrel near its forward end. The disk 59 isprovided with a circular series of perforations 54 through its marginalportion, each perforation being of a size to accommodate a singlepellet. Underlying the disk 53 is a fixed circular floor 55 which may beintegral with the barrel H3. The floor 56 is provided with a singleperforation 58 which is located directly above the notch 43 in thetrigger bar 32 when the latter is in the extended position. illustratedin Figures and 6. A considerable supply of pellets maybe maintained onthe disk 59 by a magazine consisting of a cylindrical Wall (ill and acover E2, the disk itself serving as the bottom of the magazine. Thecover 62 may be held on by any suitable means such, as a bolt 64 whichpermits the cover to be swung laterally to open the top of the magazinefor insertion of pellets. Integral with the wall 60' is a bottom sector65 which is secured by the bolt 52 and which supports the wall 60 andthe cover 62. This bottom member covers a portion of the disk 50including the perforation 5 which is immediately over the notch ll), butleaves exposed a considerable number of the perforations 54 as indicatedin Figure 3 to receive pellets from the magazine. When the instrument isheld in the proper position for use the magazine will be above the disk5% and pellets therein will enter the successive perforations 54 asthese perforations move out from under the. bottom. member 66.

Automatic means operated by reciprocation of the trigger bar 32 rotatethe disk 59 step by step so as to bring successive perforations 54 intoregistration with the notch 40. For this purpose, the periphery of thedisk 56 is provided With ratchet teeth 58 which are adapted to beengaged in succession by a flexible pawl as shown in Figures 2, 3, and4. This pawl may be in the form of a tightly coiled spring, one end ofwhich is secured to the finger button 35, the other end being free toengage the nearest tooth 68 of the ratchet wheel. A stationary pawl 12is mounted on the bar el if! to prevent reverse movement of the disk 5F.

To operate the device, the plunger is restricted to its cocked positionby pulling the fingerpiece 28, preferably with the forefinger of thehand in which the instrument is held. When the plunger reaches itscocked position, the trigger bar will be pushed to its extended positionby the compressed spring 33, in which position the bar blocks forwardmovement of the plunger and thus holds it in its cocked position. Whenthe bar is in its extended position, the notch 46 is immediatelybelow'the hole 5-8 so that it receives a pellet from the hole.

When. the needle. has been inserted through. the skin of the animal, thefinger button 34 is pressed by the forefinger of the operator to pushthe bar inward until the notch 49 comes into registry with the bore l8,-

successive perforation 54 immediately" above the hole 58, and the pelletin this perforation thereupon falls into the hole. When the bar 32 isnext moved by the spring 36 to its projected position as shown in Figure6, the notch 40 moves into a position immediately below the hole 58 andthus receives therefrom the pellet therein. Thus by automaticallypressing against the fingerpiece 28 and then the bar 34, the device canbe cocked and the plunger released, a fresh pellet being moved intoplace in front of the plunger each time it is released. The magazine 6!]may be made in any convenient size, the one illustrated on the drawingbeing adapted to hold 400 to 500 pellets. These pellets are fed one byone into the needle [2 each time the plunger is actuated so that thedevice can be used for a large number of operations without stopping toreplenish the magazine or feeding disk.

I claim:

1.. A pellet injecting device comprising a hollow needle, a plungerslidable in said needle to the forward. end thereof, spring meanspressing said plunger forward, means on said plunger engageable toretract the plunger against the pressure of the spring to a cockedposition, a stop element movable into a position to retain the plungerin its cocked position and into a second position to release saidplunger, said stop element having means for moving a pellet into linewith said plunger when said stop element is moved to release theplunger, a magazine for a supply of pellets normally above the level ofthe needle when the device is in, use, and means operable by actuationof said stop element to receive pellets one by one from said magazineand to transfer the received pellets to said stop element.

2. A pellet injecting device as in claim 1, said receiving andtransferring means comprising a disk with a series of perforations inthe margin thereof to receive single pellets, and ratchet means forimparting step-by-step rotation to the disk when the stop element isoperated.

3. A pellet injecting device comprising an elongated body member, ahollow needle projecting from an end of said member, said member andneedle having a bore therethrough, a plunger slidable in said bore froma retracted position to a forward position in which its'forward end issubstantially at the extremity of the needle, spring means in said bodymember pressing said plunger forward, a fingerpiece carried by saidplunger and projecting laterally from said body member for manualretraction of said plunger, a trigger member extending transverselythrough said body member across said bore at the forward extremity ofthe plunger when the plunger is retracted to block forward movement ofthe plunger, said trigger having a transverse recess therein movableinto line with said bore to release said plunger for forward movement, amagazine carried by said body member, a feeding disk rotatably mountedon said body member to transfer pellets one by one from the magazine tosaid trigger recess, and ratchet m ans operated by reciprocation of thetrigger to impart step-by-step feeding rotation to said disk.

4. A pellet injecting device comprising a horizontal barrel with alongitudinal slot, a hollow needle projecting from an end of saidbarrel, a

plunger in said barrel having a portion slidable in said needle to theend thereof, spring means in said barrel pressing said plunger forward,a fingerpiece projecting down from said plunger and through said slot,said fingerpiece being engageable to retract said plunger to a cockedposition, a trigger means comprising a transversely slidable barextending through said barrel at the forward end thereof to blockforward movement of the plunger from its cocked position, said barhaving a recess therein adapted to receive a pellet and to be moved intoline with said plunger whereby to release the plunger for forward movement from its cocked position, a container for a supply of pelletsmounted on the forward portion of said barrel, the bottom member of saidcontainer being a horizontal rotatable feeding disk having a series ofperforations through its margin to receive single pellets, a fixed floormember mounted on said barrel and underlying some of said perforations,one said perforation being directly over the recess in said bar when thebar is in its plunger-blocking position, and

ratchet means for imparting step-by-step rotation to said disk when saidbar is moved to its plunger-releasing position to move successiveperforations into position to deliver a pellet into said recess.

JOHN LEO KAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 842,631 Deperdussin Jan. 29, 19071,109,072 Kozmousky Sept. 1, 1914 1,347,622 Deimnger July 27, 1920

